The youngster repaid Jose Mourinho’s faith by scoring two incredible goals which helped Roma to recover from their poor run of form
Jose Mourinho pulled a big gamble on Sunday when he introduced Ghanaian young striker Felix Afena-Gyan against Geno in Seria A and it worked to perfection.
With Roma in dire need of goals and three points, Mourinho brought on Gyan with only fifteen minutes left to be played and the Ghanaian repaid his faith in a grand style.
The 18-year-old first shot Roma ahead by the 82nd minute after he was set by Herinkh Mkhitaryan before he scored a screamer to get the whole stadium buzzing.
And Mourinho has revealed that the young striker chose to run to him and celebrate the first goal because he wanted to remind him of his promises.
“I had promised to buy Felix the boots he really likes, which are really expensive, they cost €800, so he ran over and told me not to forget! Tomorrow morning, the first thing I do is buy him the boots,” Mourinho told DAZN.
“I am sorry for Mister De Rossi and the Primavera squad, but Felix will stay with us. The Primavera work close to us, so Felix and another four or five players have come across to the senior squad.
“What impressed me the most was his cool head in front of goal. If he is not in terms of technique fantastic, he does have a strong mentality.
“You get these kids now who think they know everything, but he is humble and you can sense he just absorbs all this information from everyone around him. That’s fantastic.”
Mourinho also admitted that Roma were badly hit by injuries and sicknesses before the game as they were without a proper leck back.
“It was a tough game, but we dominated possession, controlled it, perhaps lacked something along the vertical lines.
“Mkhitaryan had a fantastic game in that role, we were always in control, preventative marking neutralised the Genoa counter-attacks and they sat even deeper in the second half.
“At that moment, I felt Felix had a different profile and could make the difference, just as he did against Cagliari and Milan. He caused them problems with his energy, physicality and did it again.
“When he comes on, he changes the dynamics of the team. We had worked really hard, moved the ball very well and Stephan El Shaarawy made an incredible effort to adapt to this type of tactical work.
“Felix has this type of intensity, he presses the opposition, forces them to make mistakes and gave a different intensity to the side. I saw Eldor Shomurodov was running out of steam and I always felt we would win, although at times the possibility of a draw did flash across my mind. It would’ve been frustrating, but also positive for the performance.
Nicolò Zaniolo was left on the bench throughout the match after reports this week of clashes between the young player and Mourinho in training.
“The truth is this squad was not built to play this system. I think Nico could’ve played upfront more than midfield, but Genoa were playing for a point and reducing all the spaces, so it would’ve been difficult for him. I thought Felix was more suited to the situation, as he is more direct and vertical.
“I watch everything from the touchline and I was really struck by how everyone on the bench celebrated the goals. Zaniolo could’ve been sitting there with a negative attitude, but I felt the complete opposite. That means he is a team player and on Thursday or Sunday he will have the opportunity to play.”
Mourinho famously called himself the ‘Special One’ and took some time to pat himself on the back this evening too, especially as he took the media for a ride.
“I said in the press conference yesterday that all the work we did this week in training went in the bin, but it wasn’t true… I had the feeling Mkhitaryan could do everything he did tonight with his technique and experience. The only thing he didn’t do was score, but in my view he was Man of the Match.
“We had three midfielders who love the ball and they did a great job, I am very happy with this option. It’s one of those days when a coach goes home and feels really pleased with himself, because it all worked!”
This was the debut on the Genoa bench and in club football for new coach Andriy Shevchenko, who worked with Mourinho at Chelsea.
“Before kick-off, he gave me a bottle of red wine, which is a traditional gift in English football for the home coach. I also had a chat with (assistant manager Mauro) Tassotti. I am happy for me, disappointed for him, one day those positions will be changed and he will feel bad for me, happy for him.
“The great thing is that he is in love with this sport and the role of a coach. You have to be crazy about it to do this job and he is crazy about it.”
October 27, 2021: Afena-Gyan makes his professional debut against Cagliari
Gyan on his Instagram story after the match: “Forever grateful sir, I’m going to make you proud”
November 21, 2021: Subbed on late against Genoa in a 0-0 game and scores a brace to help Roma win 2-0.
WATCH FELIX AFENA-GYAN’S GOALS BELOW:
How Jose Mourinho became a coach – from Interpretor to world class coach:
